You Talk Too Much
by TamaraneanOnMars
Summary: AU. She feels an uncharacteristic feeling as she stares into his emerald green eyes. Green was always her favorite color. She quickly pushed these thoughts aside and held her bow in place. "Sorry; nothing personal." She tells him, her bow never leaving his heart. Spitfire. Rated T for swearing. Collab between YourOwnLittleSpitfire and TheGreenScar. WE BOTH APOLOGIZE FOR NO UPDATES.


YourOwnLittleSpitfire**: Guess who is no longer a collab virgin? Aw yeah! :D So this is gonna be a multi chapter thing. I know I've got School Days to work on, but I've decided that that is on hiatus until further notice. Please don't kill me. I try my best.**

**I've been friends with TheGreenScar for, what... three months now? Feels like longer. But, anyway, one day we just... decided to do a collab. I don't know. I don't really remember. All I know is that I am now working on my first collab and I'm pretty chuffed.**

TheGreenScar**: I agree with Spitfire I'm extremely excited about this collab and hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as we have fun writing so please R/R and tell us what you think =)**

**Title:** You Talk Too Much  
**Characters/Pairings:** Wally West, Artemis Crock, Wally/Artemis  
**Summary:** AU. She feels an uncharacteristic feeling as she stares into his emerald green eyes. Green was always her favorite color. She quickly pushed these thoughts aside and held her bow in place. "Sorry; nothing personal." She tells him, her bow never leaving his heart. Spitfire. Multi chapter. Rated T for swearing. Collab between YourOwnLittleSpitfire and TheGreenScar.  
**Disclaimer:** Neither of us own anything.

**~0~0~0~**

There were times when Artemis Crock wondered if what she was doing was wrong. She would think, hey, what if all that stuff hero's say about kindness, honor and heart is true? Maybe - just maybe - she should change her ways. She could give up her (rather ridiculous, in her opinion) uniform, give up her identity as Tigress, give up her position as one of the Shadows's best assassin in favor of a cleaner lifestyle.

This was not one of those times.

Her grin was wide as she held her bow at the ready, delighting in how she could slip through the shadows without any of the civilians passing through Happy Harbor noticing. None of these innocent people knew she was ready to infiltrate and steal the Helmet of Fate from the home of one of the latest thorns in the Shadow's side - the Young Justice League. Or, Kid Flash, Robin, Aqualad, Miss Martian, Superboy, Zatanna and Rocket, as most settled with calling them.

She forced herself to focus as she approached the mountain, trying to ignore the slight jealousy she would feel every time she saw a happy couple holding hands, kissing and... other things (Couldn't they leave that until they got home? There were children around, for Christ's sake!). She was so close. She couldn't be distracted by something so typically teenager as dating. She didn't have time for boys, anyways.

She waited before the bay doors opened and the 'Bio-ship', she believed it was called, flew out to see to the trouble Cheshire was causing - they obviously didn't know it was only a distraction.

Before it closed, she rushed into the cave.

Artemis stuck to the shadows as she moved along the wall towards the objective, the only thing making a sound being a low humming that she assumed was coming from the Caves power source.

She quickly and quietly moved down the hallway and towards the room. She froze in place when she heard something... or someone moving around in the room she was headed to. She notched an arrow in her bow and slowly moved around the corner; she spotted a red headed boy no older than herself facing a bookshelf with various tools and gadgets placed on it in a trophy like fashion.

'_Bingo._' She thought as she spotted the Helmet of Fate - the problem was the redhead standing between her and her goal, and nothing stands between a Crock and her goal.

She drew the arrow back and aimed it right at the boys heart.

"Going to shoot me in the back?" The redhead asks, turning to look her in the eyes. She hesitates for a moment as she takes in his freckled features and fire red hair. She feels an uncharacteristic feeling as she stares into his emerald green eyes. Green was always her favorite color. She quickly pushed these thoughts aside and held her bow in place.

"Sorry; nothing personal." She tells him, her bow never leaving his heart.

The ginger boy (Was this Kid Flash without the costume? The hair was certainly a give away) didn't even pay the bow and arrow in her hands any mind - he was busy studying her hardened features. Her mouth was set in a firm line, her eyes narrowed, and he noticed that her shoulders were tense. She hadn't planned for this, he guessed. She must have thought that the whole team would leave, and the cave would be empty.

He had thought that Cheshire was only a distraction - she wouldn't cause trouble for the sake of causing trouble, but he had been the only one that had thought so, therefore he had stayed. However, he had no idea why he had ended up in the souvenir room. Maybe, on some level, he had known that they would target it.

A grin was slowly replacing the frown he had been wearing, and he crossed his arms. His gaze didn't leave her eyes - it was like they were limitless, and somewhere inside of himself, he could feel himself getting lost in them. "So, what's a pretty girl like you doing working for the Shadows?"

Her eyes narrowed again - they were now like slits. Wondering why she hadn't shot him yet. She didn't answer. '_Did he just... flirt with me?_' She thought. After a moment, she inwardly sighed. '_Yeah, definitely Kid Flash._'

"Oh, you're not talking? I'm wounded." He continued with a small chuckle. She scowled, but he didn't seem to notice. "You know, just looking at you, I can see something. You want to know what I see?"

"Someone who is about to put you through severe pain." She spat. He brightened at the sound of her voice. "You talk too much."

"I'll take that as a compliment." He said proudly, uncrossing his arms. He seemed to soften. "I see someone that I can imagine fighting beside me, not against me. I can tell that no matter how happy you seemed outside -" Her eyes widened and he rolled his own. "We do have security cameras, you know. Anyway, no matter how happy you seemed, I think it was the thrill that you love, not the stealing."

"Shut up." She said quietly, grip on her bow tightening.

"Come on, erm... what's your name?" He asks.

"Tigress." She grits out.

"Come on, Tigress, you can't seriously tell me you want to keep doing this-" He gestures to her costume before continuing. "For the rest of your life. Haven't you ever thought about using your gifts to help people rather than hurt them?"

Artemis averted her eyes. She had thought about it and even tried to become a hero but once her Dad had found out, he beat her to within an inch of her life and locked her in a metal box for weeks. But that didn't stop her - every so often she would sneak out of their hideout and try to do good. Maybe if she did enough good, she could balance out all the bad she had done in her life as Tigress. She could see the redhead slowly starting to approach her and for once she didn't feel like fighting.

She slowly released the tension in the bow string until the arrow rested harmlessly against it. She looked up and saw the redhead was smiling at her - she could feel a warm sensation crawl through her as she looked into his eyes. He got close enough to put a hand on her shoulder but before he could offer any words he felt a twinge in the side of his neck - he felt along the side of his neck and pulled out a small dart that had an amber looking liquid in it. He dropped to his knees as the sedative began to take over - he looked into Tigress's eyes and could see what looked like tears beginning to well up.

"I'm sorry..." She whispered before turning and leaving the Cave as fast as she could - heading to wherever she could to get away from these feelings that were crawling their way into her heart.

**~0~0~0~**

Wally woke up the next day to the sound of beeping.

It took him a moment to realize that it was the sound of an oven.

He let out a loud groan as he sat up, his hand massaging his temple for reasons he didn't know. He was warm, way too warm, and as he opened his eyes groggily, he realized that he was covered in at least seven blankets. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, pulling off the blankets that he didn't need due to his fast metabolism and studying his surroundings.

He was lying on the couch in the living room - he briefly wondered why they didn't put him in his bedroom, then remembered that he had locked it after Dick had gone in and was teasing him about his flash merchandise for a week - and the TV was on some 'reality' TV show that he couldn't bring himself to care about, so he turned it off.

He tried to stand, but before he could, he found a green hand pushing him down.

"Oh, you're awake! Don't you want to lie down more? Where are the blankets? Oh, there they are. Why are they on the floor?"

Wally grabbed her wrist and sat up, sending M'gann a comforting smile. "Hey, I'm fine, Babe; why would I want to stay on the couch? It's not like I'm ill or anything." She relaxed and looked like she was thinking about apologizing for being stupid, but he continued, getting to his feet. "And why the blankets? Super fast metabolism, remember?"

She let out a small chuckle and smiled sheepishly. "Oh, yeah - sorry. I wasn't sure." Wally nodded and checked the time. It seemed that he had been out for approximately five hours. That was a strong dart.

Wally glanced at the oven. "Uh, M'gann, shouldn't you get that?"

She straightened, turning and muttering; "Shoot, not again!". Wally laughed and started to make his way to the door with the promise that he would be back for whatever she had cooked, but M'gann grabbed his wrist to catch his attention.

"Uh, Wally?" She started uncertainly. "What happened? You know, to get you knocked out."

Wally thought back to last night. The pretty girl in the orange and black costume and the ponytail that looked more like liquid gold - the way she had looked at him, like she was halfway between killing him and smiling. The way she had reacted to his mini-speech. The way she had shot the dart at his neck. He sent M'gann a sad smile.

"I think... I think I made a friend."

**~0~0~0~**

"You pathetic little shit."

Crack.

"We needed that helmet. That helmet had been a pain in the ass, and you failed to retrieve it."

Crack, crack.

Artemis thought for a moment that that crack was her bones breaking, then she thought that it was simply the sound of her father's bat beating her, again and again and again. In some sick way, she didn't mind the pain. She had used to her father's beatings. And pain meant she was alive, right?

So, she sat, face expressionless, taking her punishment. When she did raise her head, she was met with her father's sadistic grin.

"I don't think we'll be needing you in the field for a while, so why don't we make your punishment a bit more severe?"

**~0~0~0~**

After her father's 'lesson', Artemis found herself locked in room that she came to find as more of a prison cell than somewhere that you're suppose to sleep. She pulled her top off and began to assess the damage. The black-purple bruises over her ribs told her that she had a couple of broken ribs and possibly a bruised diaphragm. She tried to pull her hair back but hissed in pain when she felt her left shoulder hitch about half-way up.

'_Great._' She thought sarcastically; a dislocated shoulder was the last thing she needed. She carefully placed her hand on the floor as she counted to three.

"One... Two... Three." On three she shifted her weight and rolled her shoulder, causing a sickening pop to emanate from her shoulder as it relocated back into socket. Artemis bit her tongue until she could taste blood to help take her mind of the searing pain that was emanating from her shoulder. Once some of the pain had subsided she gingerly laid back onto the bed and started to pull the covers over her, keeping in mind of her various injuries as she pulled it up to her chin.

Resting her head on the pillow her thoughts went back to what the redhead had asked her. Does she really want to continue down this road? Why can't she be a hero? She hated being with her father - the only reason she stayed was because of Jade and even she was thinking about leaving... again. Her mind went into overdrive as she thought about life as a hero, using her skills for good instead of trying to please her father who would beat her anyway regardless if she did good or not.

She needed out of this life... and that red head was her first step in helping her become a hero.

**~0~0~0~**

The next day, Wally sped to the Cave in high spirits. Maybe it was the sun beating down on Happy Harbor, creating the perfect opportunity to go to the beach and make up for that day he had ran in on Zatanna's first day in beach shorts and flagged down by beach equipment. Maybe it was how he could do whatever he wanted all day, since he didn't need to go to school and Batman had announced that they were getting another day off.

Or maybe it was because he could see a streak of gold. Liquid gold.

He stopped in his tracks right outside the mountain and did a double take. He knew what that was. It was a ponytail. Upon further inspection, he saw that it belonged to a girl. She wore a long, black coat, despite the weather, as if she was hiding something. He was surprised to see that her ponytail had dried blood in it. She was gazing up at the mountain, and when he moved to get a better look at her face, he could see that the look in her eyes was almost longing. He also saw a large, fresh bruise on her cheek and that she was wincing, as if in extreme pain.

He stood frozen for a moment. What could he do? Should he go up to her, ask if he could help? Should he do nothing? No, that would be heartless. This girl obviously needs help. He couldn't just leave her. So, he started to walk up to her.

She seemed to notice him and her eyes widened. She took some hasty steps backwards, away from him, before freezing, as if unsure what to do. He frowned and walked a bit faster. "Hey, are you okay? I just want to help. What's wr-" He stopped when she looked up at him and he got a full view of her face.

It was her.

Tigress. The girl from a couple of days ago. His mouth fell agape and he was pretty sure that he probably resembled a fish, but at that moment he didn't really care. They stood, looking at each other, for a moment of tense silence. Eventually, she turned and ran.

"Hey, wait!" He called, starting to run after her, but this girl was good and she slipped into the bushes. Even with the distance between them, he could hear how painful it was for her to run in her state. What had even happened to her, anyway?

The bushes may have been small, but they provided good cover, since he had no idea where she was. He sighed, and guessed she didn't want to see him. So, he decided to respect that, and entered the mountain.

**~0~0~0~**

When Artemis saw that Kid Flash was gone, she stood and smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand - careful to avoid the bruise. 'Idiot! Why didn't you talk to him? Why did you run away like some stupid kid?' She scolded herself internally, shaking her head. She knew that that bruise was going to be an annoyance. Now, when the shadows come looking for her, she had a great big target on her face.

She was still shocked at how easy it was to get away from the shadows. Her father had let her out of that cell, thinking that she had learnt her lesson, and she had just... slipped out. She was sure that they knew she had left, but maybe they thought she was coming back.

Yeah, like she would.

**~0~0~0~**

Wally walked towards the kitchen with the blonde girl still on his mind. As he entered he saw Zatanna sitting down at the table and M'gann making pancakes, singing a happy tune that he couldn't quite place.

"Hey Wally. What's up?" The young magician asked. M'gann turned at the mention of his name and smiled as she brought the stack of pancakes to the table.

"I made pancakes, Wally. Your favorite!" M'gann said excitedly. Wally sat down and eyed the food.

"I'm not hungry." The speedster mumbles out. Zatanna raises an eyebrow and places the back of her hand on his forehead.

"Zee, what are you doing?" He asks.

"Checking to see if you're sick."

"Oh. Ha, ha. Very funny." He says sarcastically. After finding that Wally wasn't physically sick she removed her hand and grabbed some pancakes.

After a few minutes, Wally's metabolism got the better of him as he piled the delicious food high on his plate while proceeding to drown the pancakes in an ocean of maple syrup.

"Thanks, M'gann; these are delicious." He says with a mouthful of food. The Martian beams at the praise as she turns to make more pancakes for the rest of the team. Wally ate a few pancakes before his thoughts turned back to Tigress. He wondered what she was doing back at the Cave.

'_Maybe she wants to join the team?_' He thought '_That's a stupid idea, Wally. Maybe she just getting some air... but why did she come to Happy Harbor? More importantly, why did she have blood in her ponytail?_' All these thoughts made Wally wonder if he should have gone after her through the bushes.

**~0~0~0~**

Artemis trudged through the sand of the beach to the Cave's back entrance. Her injuries began to take a toll on her, as it started to become harder to breathe and she could feel consciousness slowly starting to fade away as she reached the steel door.

She knocked heavily and almost instantly regretted it as her ribs reminded her that they were indeed still broken. She fought back a wave of nausea and knocked again - hoping that what the redhead had said about cameras was true and that someone could see her.

She knocked one last desperate time as she slumped to her knees as pain hit her it the head like a sledgehammer - the last thing she saw was fiery red hair and emerald eyes laced with concern before unconsciousness took her.

**~0~0~0~**

It was so blindingly white.

Artemis could feel someone put a hand on her arm in a comforting way and could hear said person saying something, but she was too tired to turn her head or listen. They sounded concerned, worried. Why were they worried? What was going on? Where was she? Her bed wasn't this soft. Her bed was scratchy and she could never get comfortable in it, but this one was... comforting.

Okay, now she was worried.

Nothing in the Shadow's base was comforting - nothing.

So, she opened her eyes. Immediately she was met by colours - mainly reds and greens. The sleepy part of her wondered if it was christmas and she could have laughed at herself is she wasn't so alarmed that Kid Flash was staring at her with some foreign emotion, even if there was confusion mixed in and why was he staring at her like that and why were his eyes so green and how was he even getting a chance to stare at her andandandand-

"Hey! Hey, beautiful, calm down!"

She hadn't realized that her breathing had become shallow and rushed and that she had sat up and was struggling to escape her bed. He was lightly pushing on her shoulder to get her to lay back and she almost protested but one look in those green eyes (green had always been her favorite colour) and suddenly she lost the will to fight. She remembered him. She remembered... pain? Oh, yeah. Dad.

Part of her registered that she was probably in Mount Justice. She remembered collapsing and seeing the features of the same red headed boy that was staring at her now in a way that made her want to run away. Did that

"What the Hell is going on?!" She hissed and he seemed to back away as if scared. She must be acting angrier than he felt. He held up his hands.

"Uh, look, we were just trying to help you." He told her, his voice reassuring, as he ;lowered his hands and made sure he was close enough to stop her from doing anything stupid, but far enough away that she didn't feel the need to try to escape again. "You knocked and when I opened it you had collapsed - I thought you wanted help."

"No," She growled. "I meant, why am I strapped to the bed?!"

He raised his eyebrows and glanced at her wrists - she was, indeed, tied to the bed.

"Oh, yeah, that," He laughed shakily. "Uh, the rest of the team insisted that we tie you down so you don't kill us or something. They still consider you the enemy."

She froze, her mouth falling agape for a moment. She recovered a second later. "And you... don't?" '_Well, that was fast._'

He paused. He motioned towards the chair beside her bed, as if asking for permission. When she didn't glare, he took that as a yes and took a seat. "Well, yeah, actually. I don't know why, but I just can't imagine you doing that. After I saw you outside the mountain, I guessed that your intentions weren't hostile. Plus," He grinned. "No assassin would knock."

She studied him long and hard for a moment. Something about this boy contradicted everything that her father taught her. He was too trusting and in her line of work trust often got you killed or stabbed in the back and left to die. After a few moments of awkward silence, Wally coughed and she was brought out of her thoughts and back to reality.

"I don't think you need these anymore." He says, standing and walking over and undoing her straps. Maybe it was the training in him or the subconscious thought he had about her being an assassin but he kept an eye on her the entire time that he undid the straps on her arms before moving to the ones on her legs. When she was completely free she rose up and surveyed the room as she rubbed her chaffed wrists but she was abruptly pushed back down by the wave of pain that shot through her reminding her that she was indeed injured.

Wally looked on with concern and thought about calling Black Canary back in to give the girl some medicine. "Are you okay?" He asks. She levels her gaze at him and he can feel himself squirming under it.

"I'm fine, moron. Having broken ribs is the new way to have fun... you should try it sometime." She snaps at him. She instantly regrets her words when he dips his head down, and finds herself feeling something very unfamiliar to her; guilt. "Sorry, its just this hurts... a lot." She emphasizes with a small smile. Wally finds himself returning it and mentally notes that its the first time he has actually seen the blonde girl smile since he had met her.

"It's okay I understand... not everyone can be as amazing as me and have accelerated healing." He states with a smirk. Artemis rolls her eyes but smiles nonetheless. Wally pulls out his phone and checks the time.

"Late for something?" She inquires with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope, but someone special is coming to ask you questions about your past... you'll like him, he has a thing for arrows too." Wally finishes with a smile.

**~0~0~0~**

"Get her out of the cave."

Wally's eyes widened in shock. They were standing just outside the room where Artemis was lying, arms probably still crossed, eyes still narrowed. Roy had taken one step inside the room, shared one glance with the girl (Wally would ask her actual name but had a feeling that she still wasn't quite comfortable enough around him) and walked out again, beckoning for Wally to follow.

"What? You haven't even met her yet."

"I know her, Wally." Roy glared at his friend through his mask, crossing his strong arms.

Wally frowned. "Once again; what?"

"That girl is bad news." He insisted. "She tried to kill me. About a year back. With a baseball bat."

Wally blinked as Roy took a moment to let this sink in.

"Have you ever had someone try to kill you with a baseball bat, Wally? It's not pleasant. It wasn't even clean."

With a sigh, Wally crossed his arms, mimicking his older friend's position. "Well, was did she look like?" Roy seemed confused. "What did her expression say?"

Hesitating, Roy relaxed his arms. "She seemed... scared. But-"

"Roy." Wally's tone was harsh and impatient. He didn't have the patience for Roy's stubbornness; he was already busy enough trying to convince the rest of the team not to get rid of this assas- ex assassin, now he had to convince Roy too? Nope. Absolutely not. Roy could get worse than Connor at times. "She is not leaving. That was a year ago. She didn't kill me when she got the chance, did she?" He didn't give Roy a chance to interrupt. "Do you know what she said to me before she left? She said she was sorry. Sorry. Don't you get it? She changed, Roy! She doesn't want to hurt people."

"Wally-"

"When I found her, severely injured, unconscious outside the cave, she had blood in her ponytail, and test shown that that was her blood. Do you think she did that to herself?" He spat out the words that wouldn't stop tumbling from his mouth. "Someone's been hurting her. I'll bet she didn't want to kill you. Someone was forcing her too."

"Wally, shut up!" Roy glared, his voice rising in volume. Wally did as he said but he was still frowning angrily. "You're not a detective, for christ's sake! You met the girl, what, four days ago? Three? You've only seen what she wants you to see. You can't form an opinion on her with just two words!"

Wally was quiet for a moment and his voice was firm.

"You weren't there. You didn't hear how she said it. I was surprised too. It's not everyday a villain shoots you with a tranquilizer dart and apologises. I really got through to her. That never happens. She looked like she was going to cry, or something. I think... what I said really... meant something."

Roy blinked.

"And now you think I'm insane." He said, sounding exasperated. "Just... give her a chance, okay? She's not as bad as you think."

Red Arrow sighed.

"Fine. For you."

**~0~0~0~**

After Kid Flash and Red Arrow left, Artemis finds that she isn't able to sleep.

She had heard their conversation. All of it. What Kid Fla- Wally had said about her... was that true? Did he really have that much faith in her? Also, she knew his name now. Wally. It... fit, somehow. It suited his endless green eyes and freckles. When she saw his face, saw his grin or his smirk, she couldn't help but think that Wally was just perfect.

But this wasn't really the main thing keeping her awake.

The image of her sister haunts her. The feeling that her father could be outside, right now, ready to barge in and take her back, killing all that gets in his way... Sure, it would be a bit unlike him - oh, how he disliked being so messy - but she knew that he would do it. She grew up with this man. She knew his habits, his traits, his techniques and how he abandons them every now and then in pure fits of rage.

This wasn't her first attempt at escape, and last time her father was angrier than she'd ever seen him. His voice still stood out in her mind.

'_Do you know how inconvenient your little escape plan is to me? Do you even understand what it would mean if you got away?! All our secrets would be in the hands of the bastards those idiotic fuckers in Gotham call 'heroes'! We would be vulnerable - we would be weak._

'_Oh, but you want that, don't you? You want the people that trained you, gave you a home, taught you the vital skills needed to survive in this hell hole, to rot in a cell. Well, guess what?_'

She remembered how his sneer had cut through her like glass.

'_You're stuck here. With me. I'm your father, Artemis. You owe me. You should feel privileged, grateful. Aren't you grateful? Aren't you proud? Don't you just love your father?_'

Artemis didn't remember the rest. She guessed her mind had blocked it - the pain had been so very... painful, is the only word to describe it. Excruciating wasn't right. Unpleasant; not hurtful enough. Agonizing was pretty accurate, she guessed, but it still didn't sound like enough.

She sighed and tried to turn onto her side, but she winced and bit her lip to stop herself from crying out. Now, that had been pain. All thanks to her Dad. She huffed. 'Bastard.'

Before she closed her eyes to let sleep take her, she noticed a blue eye peering at her from the doorway, but it was gone before she could blink.

**~0~0~0~**

Artemis tossed and turned through the night. Every time she would manage to get away from whatever was chasing her, they would appear right in front of her again with a sadistic grin and a bloodied baseball bat.

"Where do you think you're going, little girl?" The voice boomed. It was too unearthly for her to pinpoint but if she hazard to guess it was her father.

"Away from you!" She roared and turned and tried to run away, but in her haste to escape she tripped and landed hard on the ground. She turned and saw the figure descending onto her and all she could do was scream, for something... for anyone to come and save her but it fell on deaf ears as she jolted awake in her bed.

She looked around frantically as the room came into view. Her breathing was erratic and it felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. After a few moments she managed to control her breathing and heart rate but she had the sudden feeling that she wasn't alone in the room. Her well trained eyes scanned the room, looking for anything out of place; everything seemed normal until she saw the shadow in the opposite corner move. At first she thought it was just the painkillers playing tricks with her mind, but as she narrowed her eyes, she made out the distinct outline of a cape and who it was attached to.

"I know you're there." She called out. The shadow froze for a few seconds before stepping out into the dim light coming off the lamp next to her bed.

"Not bad..."

She had a chance to take in the brightly colored uniform and the mask that covered the heroes face. The insignia on his chest was a dead giveaway on who he was.

"Robin, I presume." She said. The bird nodded and continued to study her, which frankly was freaking Artemis out a little bit. The kids gaze was like ice and the whites on the mask did nothing to calm her.

"Well, are you here to tell me that I don't belong either?" This seemed to snap him out of his stare.

"Nope, just here to see the new girl that Wally is fawning over." Robin says with a smirk forming on his face. Artemis rolls her eyes but can't help the slight heat that creeps into cheeks.

"Well, the other redhead didn't seem too thrilled that I was here." She tells him. Robin waves her off.

"Thats Roy; he's always been a bit of an..." He thought of the word.

"Asshole." Artemis finished for him. Robin smiled and nodded.

"Exactly. He may seem like an asshole on the outside but once you get to know him... well, come to think of it, he's still an asshole." Robin says. Artemis can't help but smile a little bit at the bird who starts for the door.

"Don't worry about the rest of the team... As long as you keep good on wanting to do better than everyone will come around eventually, just stay whelmed." He finishes as the door slides open and he disappears into the hallway. Artemis raises an eyebrow and the young hero before sliding back down into the covers and pulling them to her chin, sleep almost claiming her as she thinks about what he had said.

'_Whelmed... What the hell does that mean?_' She thought to herself.


End file.
